Using the space inside of a wall to house cabling while providing an external faceplate for connectors is often more aesthetically pleasing than running cable loose on the ground or other exterior to the wall locations. By running cabling inside a wall, the cabling can be protected from modification, severing, or other interference or damage that can result when a cable is exposed to both the elements and the prying hands of people. Conventional audio and video housings comprise a low voltage work box capable of receiving cabling through an interior or exterior wall cavity and a faceplate that receives the cable on the interior of the faceplate and provides a jack or a port on the exterior of the faceplate for interfacing with audio systems, video systems, data systems, etc.
In most systems, the cable received by the low voltage work box corresponds directly with the exterior port on the faceplate. For example, if the exterior faceplate provided for an RCA port, then an RCA cabling would be received through the low voltage work box and connected to the interior of the faceplate. As technology evolves, audio, video, and data signal standards can change. Using the example of the RCA cabling and port, which propagates an analog signal, if an end user wished to change the port into a digital port, such as a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (“HDMI”) port, they would likely need to replace the internal wall cabling and the faceplate to effectuate the change. Rerunning cabling through an existing wall can be both costly and time consuming.
In still other systems, after initially running cabling through a wall, testing the operation of the cable can prove problematic. For example, analog signals propagated using analog cabling may not be as easy to test as digital signals propagated using digital cabling, such as Category Cabling. Newly run cable infrastructure can be tested using standards such as the Telecommunications Industry Association (“TIA”) permanent link topology; however, the ability to fully test the cable using industry standards can directly depend on the type of cable that is run.
The above-described deficiencies of conventional audio, video, and data housings, systems, and methods is merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of current technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art, and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein, may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.